Vivian DeGain Better at 50 Blog
Columnist and arts writerArchive for October, 2013
Detroit Arts Live and Worth Reading
In honor of Halloween:
from Variations on the Ordinary
Published by Plain View Press July 19, 1995
The Bat
By Vivian DeGain
Insomnia hangs from the rafters,
a tiny velvet umbrella
that folds up into itself.
Its eyes, blue glacial ice,
accuse me of sloth,
of being lazy and disorganized.
Like echolocation,
I throw it out and it comes back again,
amplified mosquitoes
that murmur lists of chores and more.
Its pointy ears of silk and fur
are cupped for sonar,
hear my heart’s longings
for a day with nothing to do,
for an afternoon in the park
watching clouds,
or a group of college boys in tight jeans.
Instead of being forty with three kids,
I’m eighteen and have a Frisbee,
which I throw into the air.
I hear the saucer whir in the dark overhead.
I feel the whirl by my face.
It’s silky and black,
a small soaring boomerang the size of my hand.
Wings of webbed skin,
its fingers brush a line across my lips
and sail into the moonlight.
Sleep would be a blessing
but the bat circles in the night.
It glides through the murky fog
and sniffs the smells of salt and blood
and nags and nags to feed on me.
Detroit Arts Live and Worth Watching JET does Wendy
Sandra Birch and Phil Powers discuss love, family and community in ‘The Sisters Rosensweig’ by Wendy Wasserstein.
JET Review: ‘The Sisters Rosensweig’ warms the heart and speaks to third-generation Americans
By VIVIAN DeGAIN
Special to The Oakland Press
The Jewish Ensemble Theatre has selected a gem to open its 25th Anniversary Season, “The Sisters Rosensweig” which is directed by JET Artistic Director David J. Magidson and runs through Oct. 20.
Magidson said the play, written by Wendy Wasserstein, is about identity and that “you don’t have to be Jewish to get it or enjoy it.”
Yet, there is certainly an underlying layer to the play that will resonate with people who are Jewish, or of any minority or ethnic background that has experienced the challenge and the joy in the process of assimilation into American culture and society in just two short generations.
Set in London, “The Sisters Rosensweig” is quick-paced story told in dialogue, about three American sisters who meet in the apartment of the eldest. It’s their first reunion since their mother’s recent death, a mother who is now absent but remains an emotional presence in their lives and Jewish identity.
The sisters quibble about which if any religious rituals to observe. They all consider themselves “modern” yet with distinct differences.
The eldest sister, Sara Goode (Sandra Birch), is 54, a successful investment banker, thrice divorced with a 17-year-old rebellious daughter Tess Goode (Madison Deadman.) Sara has no use for old fashioned roles or religious superstition.
The middle sister, Gorgeous (Emily Rose), is the most traditional of the three, married with children, a glamorous suburban housewife who is leading her Temple Sisterhood group on a tour of London. She observes many Jewish practices and rituals.
The youngest, Pfeni (Kristin Condon) is 40 and is the most untraditional, traveling the world, writing about tragic causes, and currently in a love relationship with a theatre director who is also a bisexual man.
Additional characters rock the tensions of old and new, traditional and avant-garde, religious and secular, like children rock a see-saw.
The said director Geoffrey Duncan (Lindel Salow,) would marry Pfeni because they have a come-and-go revolving relationship, meeting only a few times a year due to their busy, successful lives. She’s not satisfied with that but isn’t coming to terms with reality.
Courting Sara are two male opposites, a fun-loving fake-fur merchant Mervyn Kant (Phil Powers) who is happily Jewish– and a proper English gentleman Nicholas Pym (William Fowle) who is a romantic bore.
Finally, characters include a young revolutionary male courting Tess (Eric Eilersen) and plans to take her to witness the dawn of a fallen Socialist country and the dawn of the unknown.
The characters wrestle with their roles and identities and how they wish to live in a diverse demanding society. The performance is good, the story touching and sometimes very funny.
Powers and Birch are in perfect sync onstage and really are the strength of “The Sisters Rosensweig” at the JET.
In general, the whole cast delivers a resounding ensemble performance, which is a test of endurance with fast complicated lines and a long 2-act show. Perhaps fatigue was plaguing the actors at 5 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 5), which was good but not flawless. A few of the actors clearly goofed their lines, yet recovered with grace as a professional live performance requires.
Reactions of other audience members were generally supportive – but a few complained that they sensed a “dated tone” to the issues in “The Sisters Rosensweig.” No so. The issues are just as timely today: How do women (and men) navigate relationships, love, sex, family and work? Is there only one kind of true love? How far can one stray from tradition and ancestral history and still be the same person?
This is a memorable show and one worthy of the JET’s 25th Anniversary Season.
The Jewish Ensemble Theatre presents ‘The Sisters Rosensweig’ through Oct. 20 at the Aaron DeRoy Theatre on the campus of the Jewish Community Center, 6600 West Maple Road in West Bloomfield. Tickets are $41-$48, discounts for seniors and students. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays; 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays plus 7 p.m. Oct. 6; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 16 plus 2 p.m. Oct. 9. Call 248-788-2900 or visit www.jettheatre.org.
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DetroitArtsLiveandWorthWatchinh: MBT Game’s Afoot
Ron Williams could be Sherlock Holmes in “The Game’s Afoot” a mystery-comedy at Meadow Brook Theatre
Murder, mystery and sleuthdom? It must be October at Meadow Brook Theatre
By VIVIAN DeGAIN
Special to The Oakland Press
The title may reflect the playful words of The Bard William Shakespeare, but “The Game’s Afoot,” also called “Holmes for the Holidays” running at Meadow Brook Theater this month, is a comedy-mystery written by Tony Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig.
Ludwig’s “Game” premiered in November 2011, so the writing and characters have a very contemporary wit weaved into the stylized formality of such a period melodrama. It’s an intriguing little cloak-and-dagger, and it’s fun. After all, if its murder, mystery and sleuthdom – it must be October at Meadow Brook Theatre, and the able MBT cast and crew of MBT are creating a superb show!
“The Game’s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays” is set in the mystery mansion of one Mr. William Gillette, a 1930s actor known for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage.
When Gillette invites his supporting cast to his Connecticut estate for a winter holiday, we are not at all surprised to see that his parlor-living room has 12 doors, two staircases, a fireplace mantle displaying dozens of weapons — and a revolving secret bookshelf leading to a secret chamber.
His guests are surprised by the apparent wealth of Gillette’s success, as well as his modern addition for the times, a newfangled intercom system.
The guests arrive, the drinks are poured, and the merriment ends abruptly with the arrival of Miss Daria Chase, a dreaded theater critic — and soon by the death of one of the guests.
To identify the murderer and solve the mystery before the police show-up, the quaint Gillette assumes his guise as Sherlock Holmes.
This comedy-mystery requires precision and timing of its actors and their ability to tango with words and movement, as well as their ability to distract. The ensemble is terrific!
Bravo to Ron Williams who plays Gillette and Cheryl Turski who plays Miss Chase. Their seamless performances are spot-on.
His humor is crisp. Her character is fluid. His onstage charm creates a dashing leading man. Her onstage sarcasm embodies a lovely villain we love to hate.
But let’s not be fooled by superficial masks, as smart as they may be. Every good mystery has more than meets the eye, and so do good writers. Ludwig’s nod to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as well as The Bard, is quite agreeable.
Also a joy to watch onstage is Julia Glander, who plays the funny, odd, droll Inspector Goring. This Glander is worlds apart from the lead role she created as Mary Stuart at Meadow Brook in 2012.
This skilled MBT cast is rounded out with Gillette’s supporting cast: Andrew Huff plays Felix Geisel, MaryJo Cuppone as Madge Geisel, Vanessa Sawson as Agatha Wheeler, Jordan Whalen as Simon Bright — and Ruth Crawford performs as Gillette’s mother, Martha.
Meadow Brook Theatre Artistic Director Travis W. Walter directs “The Game’s Afoot” and credits actor Whalen for the fight choreography.
Scenic Designer Kristen Gribbin has constructed a beauty of a complicated parlor set with minimal but apt tokens of Christmas decor, and of the Meadow Brook Mansion Estate also on the grounds of Oakland University. Terry W. Carpenter is the stage manager with costumes by Liz Goodall, lighting by Reid G. Johnson and sound by Mike Duncan.
“The Game’s Afoot” at MBT is well done and well enjoyed, and makes the writer a star as well. Ludwig, who also wrote “Lend Me a Tenor” and “Moon Over Buffalo” has had six shows on Broadway and six in London’s best West End. His plays have been performed in 30 countries in over 20 languages.
Meadow Brook Theatre presents ‘The Game’s Afoot’ through Oct. 27. Performances at 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays; 6 or 8 p.m. on Saturdays; and 6:30 p.m. on Sundays with 2 p.m. matinees on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets: $25-$40. Tickets at the MBT box office (248) 377-3300 or http://www.ticketmaster.com. For more information, visit www.mbtheatre.com.
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